Last spring students at Roosevelt High followed the progress of the construction of their new track ... and waited.

"The kids, in the track program especially, were asking when it was going to be done," recalls athletic director John Chung. "They were antsy; they couldn't wait for it to be finished."

Small wonder. After years of gingerly negotiating — or avoiding altogether — a deeply rutted, often muddy dirt track that made meets impossible and practice a weekly question mark, the Rough Riders embraced their new $4.5 million athletic showplace with renewed passion for the sport. After years of wondering what-if, there was a renewal to rally around.

And it showed in winning the O'ahu Interscholastic Association boys championship Saturday, one of the jewels in a sparkling Rough Rider weekend to remember.

Even if red hadn't been a school color, it still would have been a red-letter Saturday for Roosevelt, which won four OIA championships (softball, girls water polo, boys track and boys judo). And, the Rough Riders might not be done yet with a championship round of boys volleyball that begins tonight.

"Campus has been abuzz. I don't remember a week like this," said Chung, who has been associated with the school since he was a youngster.

Now, facilities — including a new softball field — themselves don't win titles. Dedicated athletes and committed coaches do, both of which Roosevelt has had plenty of this year. But the renovation of Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium that was the combined product of community, alumni, legislative and NFL involvement became a point of pride on campus.

"This year the facility pumped some new blood into our program," Chung acknowledged.

The track turnout was up and so, too, the enthusiasm. Where, for example, there might have been two or three candidates for the pole vault, Chung estimates there were 10 this year. And instead of borrowing time at Punahou School's track to practice their event, they had their own.

Likewise sprinters and hurdlers who used to run on the grass football field when they weren't shoveling soil into track pukas alongside coach Jeff Azuma and praying it wouldn't rain, had a state-of-the-art, all-weather surface to run on. Athletes came in on their own time in the off season to use the facilities, something of a rarity previously, coaches said.

This spring, instead of twisted ankles and other injuries attributable to worn-out facilities, the Rough Riders have a lot to show for their new-look home. Beginning with some renewed pride and championship banners.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.